Welcome to Crikey’s Electioncast, a new podcast offering an independent and honest look at the politics and policy in the lead-up to the 2022 Australian federal election. Each day, Crikey’s journalists will give you a no-spin look at what Australia’s politicians are doing to win your votes.
This week, a pact signed between the Solomon Islands and China caused major waves. The agreement, which was leaked a month earlier, forced policy debates around China, the Pacific and Australia’s national security onto the agenda.
In today’s episode, politics editor Bernard Keane spoke to Tips and Murmurs editor Charlie Lewis about the ramifications for Australia’s security apparatus, whether it’s a blunder, and how it could affect the campaign.
Electioncast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Bernard there is a third alternative: ASIS did keep the government informed prior to the story breaking on March 24th, and the government is lying about not knowing before then. This, as a justification for ASIS’s leaks that it already knew (in defence against the government’s assertion that it didn’t), makes it the likeliest option. And yes, an inquiry would allow ASIS to tell us just when it informed the government.
What has France had to say about this matter?
Whether ASIS could or should have foreseen this development or not is less important than Australia’s policy response to it.
Dutton’s shrill call for a war footing, and his likening of Putin to Hitler, should be contentious. And yet, the national broadcaster turned to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) for comment last night in response. ASPI unsurprisingly said Dutton is entirely reasonable and on the money.
But who is ASPI? A government “think tank” set up by the Howard Government and now funded by contributions from Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, Thales Group and Raytheon Technologies.
That’s the real story – the Liberal Party has been bought not just by coal and oil, but by American manufacturers of weapons of mass destruction. And the ABC has gone along for the ride.
In this issue, Crikey should serve its readers by presenting the alternatives for war – Peace and Diplomacy.
It should be registered as a commercial lobbyist and agent of foreign influence.
Its every utterance is deleterious to this country – shame on any media that repeats its B/S.